The Mystery Murder
by FonzFan82
Summary: Danny has some news to share with the gang. It's about his mother, Daphne Blake. She was murdered unexpectedly. Would Mystery Inc. 2nd Generation be able to figure out who murdered Daphne? Find out!
1. Chapter 1

Danny was on the telephone that Saturday morning. It was starting to rain heavily once he put the phone back in the cradle. He didn't want to look at his girlfriend, Kylie Jones – Blake. He'd just received some terrible news about his mother, Daphne Blake. Kylie didn't get a close enough of a look at her boyfriend's face. She wanted to know if it was good news or not.

"Is there anything wrong?" she asked.

Danny's face began to redden because there were tears coming down his face.

"Call the gang," he said, crying.

He couldn't even turn to face Kylie.

"You're not looking at me, Danny. I'd like to know what's making you upset."

"You will hear this awful news once the gang come over."

Kylie got up from the couch. She turned the television off. She stood up to dial their friends. That's when she saw Danny in tears. She couldn't say anything to Danny. The gang were in their houses when Kylie called them to tell them to come over right away. After hanging up the receiver, she headed straight for Danny and hugged him.

"Everything will be all right. Do you want the girls to hear this?" Kylie asked.

Danny couldn't find a way to answer her, so all he did was nod his head.

"The gang is on their way over. I'll go and call the girls."

She'd hung up the receiver a second time when they heard the knocking on the door. Kylie went to the door and opened it.

Kylie had a smile on her face when their friend, Gloria Rogers walked in. The girls hugged as Gloria's brother, Frank Rogers stood behind her. Danny still couldn't turn to greet their friends. Gloria felt Frank tap her on the shoulder. While hugging Kylie, Kylie could feel Gloria's body. Kylie could tell while hugging her, Gloria acted like she was taking a shower since her hair was wet.

Gloria stepped into the apartment. The apartment looked like any other: doorbell (duh), washing machine, kitchen, table, chairs, bathroom, you name it. After Gloria stepped inside, she stood next to Kylie so she could let Frank in. Then he and Kylie hugged when Jessica and Ryan Anderson climbed up the stairs.

Frank and Gloria did notice Danny didn't greet them right away like he always did.

"What's wrong with Danny, Kylie?" Frank asked when he and Gloria watched Kylie slam the door after Ryan and Jessica.

"I have no idea, Frank. He hasn't said anything to me either."

Ryan walked over to greet his friend. This hasn't been the first time he'd seen Danny feel down.

Ryan noticed Danny still didn't make eye contact.

"Is something wrong, Danny?" Ryan asked when the doorbell sounded.

Danny still didn't turn around, but the only thing he did was to open the door. His three daughters, Claudia, Daphne, and Heather stood in front of him. In all of their lives, neither of the girls had seen their father so upset.

"Now that everyone's here, why don't you tell us what has made you so upset," Kylie told him.

Danny finally made contact to his family and friends with a frown on his face. He felt more tears fall on his cheek. He choked when he found the right words.

"I got this telephone call about Mom. She passed away a week from today. I've been told Mom was murdered."

Everyone looked shocked.

"That can't be right, Danny. Why would someone want to do that to your mother who worked on several cases?" Ryan asked.

Danny shrugged, since he himself didn't know how to answer this one.

"No wonder you didn't tell me right away. We're sorry," Kylie said to stand on her two feet and gave her boyfriend a hug.

"Sorry, Daddy," Daphne said.

"I'll add this on this week's church program."

She remained seated, but could tell her father looked like he didn't want to be with all of the people around him. She'd been a minister to a big church congregation in town. She'd been very successful.

"That's sweet of you, dear," Kylie told her blonde – haired daughter.

Like Kylie, Daphne had blonde hair. They both looked like Kylie's father, Fred Jones, leader of the original Mystery Inc. Group. Everyone found this news shocking. It was only March second. Kylie made the one announcement.

"Like Dad used to say, 'Well, gang, let's split up and look for some clues.'"

There was silence all around the living room. Nobody in the living room could say anything.

"I'm sure we'll find out who this crook could be who would do such a thing like this to your mother. We'll have to find out exactly why that crook would want to murder one of he famous detectives in the country."

After the gang left, Heather, Claudia, and Daphne decided to stick around for a bit longer and see what they would be useful for. Danny still was in shock when their friends once left.

"Sorry this happened to Grandma, Daddy. We know how close you were with her," Claudia spoke up for the first time since Frank, Ryan, Jessica and Gloria left two minutes earlier.

Daphne looked at the old grandfather clock as it began to chime ten – fifteen that morning.

"Look at the time. I need to head back in town. We're doing Bible study," she told her older sisters and father.

Before heading out of the door, Daphne said, "Daddy, I'm not making you, but I think church should do you good in time like this."

Then she left.


	2. Chapter 2

That evening, Ryan, Keith and Linda had supper at Jessica's place.

"What horrible news Danny shared with us," Ryan replied.

"True. I'd hate it myself it that ever happened to Mom," Jessica agreed as she headed to the fridge to pour Linda and Keith a second glass of milk.

"I agree. I don't blame Danny for being all shook up."

Daphne wasn't the only original member of Mystery Inc. That had passed away recently. Fred, Shaggy and Velma had passed on a couple of years before. After putting the milk carton back in the fridge, the door slammed once Jessica sat at her spot at the table. They were eating spaghetti and meatballs, sourdough bread with butter, frozen mixed vegetables, and pineapple.

"Boy, I'd sure be happy to find who that person could be involved with this crime," Jessica spoke up a couple of minutes later.

"Me, too. Before he or she is locked up in prison, I'd surely like to give that person a punch in their behind for making Danny feel so down."

"I agree, Ryan, but I really have no nerve to do such a thing to a murderer like that. I'd rather have the police handle that one. I'd like to find more about this crime. Maybe it'll give me something to write about."

Ryan, Linda and Keith gave each other a look. It really didn't surprise Ryan one bit that Jessica was never out of ideas. She'd been a big hit of writing her own column in the paper.

In the past until now, Jessica had shared her articles on facebook and Twitter, but she never really shared every article she'd written since the fans mostly read it on facebook and the papers. Somehow the murders they solved in the past, their facebook updates were a mix of clues, a few flashbacks and, last, but not least, a few flashbacks in some of the cases the original Mystery Inc. had solved.

Last facebook was updated, it had details on their recent case, which was about Kylie's brother,, Andrew. Since Kylie was now almost one hundred percent healed from Andrew's death, and now it was Danny's turn to take a while to get over Daphne's death. Crime – solving was the number one thing both first and second generations of Mystery Inc. had in common. Neither generation knew for sure if there'd be more generations to come in the future.

Ryan stood up from the kitchen table once the four of them had finished eating. Pineapple had always been one of Jessica's favorite fruits since it was sweet. It had been a fact pineapple was from Hawaii. Every now and then everyone would have pineapple cake for dessert.

"Good luck on finding something to write about on our latest case, Sis. I'd love to see what you have for your first article on this case."

He helped his sister clear the table and wash the dishes. Keith and Linda really didn't have any playmates at their aunt's house since Jessica lived alone and had no children of her own. While waiting for their father, Keith and Linda tied their shoelaces.

"Thank you for sending me luck on writing about this latest mystery, bro. I'm sure there will be an article someday. I don't think I'll need any luck for my next piece."

"Whatever you say, Sis. The kids and I should be heading home. It's starting to get late, and I don't want them to be in bed past their bedtime."

"I understand, bro. I'll say good – night now," she said as Ryan grabbed the car keys and the three of them walked out of the door.

Jessica sure hoped this newest murder case wouldn't take long to solve, but she was about to find out.

Note: I hope you all will enjoy this second story involving the next generation but this is a 9 chapter story.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Danny didn't feel like working on the complaints he'd received from the tenants about their toilet and sinks were not operating correctly. He wanted to forget about this job until he woke up from this frightened nightmare. He hoped he'd wake up one day and see that his mother was really alive but it was true nobody can live forever and he knew that and understood. He thought he'd have to think long and hard about what his daughter had pointed out the day before.

Of course, religious people usually went to church when they had tough times like he was having but he still wanted to see if his mind would change or not so he had until Sunday to decide if he should be there or not. He had refused to do his job in the past week but he made Kylie take his calls as usual.

"Aren't you going to do the job, Danny?" Kylie asked worriedly.

He didn't answer, so all he did was shake his head no.

"I'll call Claudia and see if she could come over right away and do your work. She isn't so bad with your job."

Kylie went to the telephone and called their daughter. Claudia was home, but she told Kylie she'd be happy to do Danny's job while he was in this tough perod of trying to be healed from this awful news.

"Claudia's on her way," Kylie said, patting her boyfriend's back.

He still didn't say anything and tears were coming down hard.

"I'm sure everything will turn out all right when we solve this case in court," Kylie said.

He still didn't answer. Claudia arrived ten minutes later. He answered the door, with redshot eyes since he'd been crying nonstop every minute of the day when he first heard the news on the telephone.

"Daddy, go to bed. You look awful."

"I can't sleep, sweetheart. What's the use of sleeping when your mother is dead?"

"I understand how you feel."

"No, you don't. Grandma Daphne was not your mother."

"If I put myself in your shoes, I'd know and understand how you feel."

He didn't argue. Kylie gave their daughter a hug.

"Mom, have him go to bed and sleep."

"He refuses to it when I suggested it. Last night, he didn't sleep a wink."

"Daddy, you need your sleep. You'd be in a wreck if you didn't sleep at all on this crime."

Kylie nodded in agreement, understanding what her daughter had just said.

"Danny, when Andy was shot, I slept since I didn't want too much stress. Sometimes when people mope around like this, they sleep a lot. I didn't do much of that when I missed out on the case of Andy's murder."

"I'm not going to sleep a wink until we find out who murdered Mom."

Already there were dark circles in his eyes. Kylie didn't seem to notice but Claudia sure did.

"Who knows how long this case will last, Danny? You're not staying up every second of the day to find out who murdered your mother and not sleep at all. That's what triggers a medical condition."

"Mommy's right, Daddy. Just try it."

"I don't think I can try, but I'll do my best."

Then Kylie walked him to their bedroom. He laid on the bed and didn't bother trying to sleep after Kylie closed the door quietly. There was no need to try to rest, since it still didn't do him good like his girlfriend and daughter were talking him into doing. He stayed awake all day until bedtime without resting once. Every now and then Kylie would check in on him, but he would pretend he was sleeping, just to show her he was following orders. He tried not to cry out loud so the girls would hear him. He turned the light on in the bedroom and did what he did when he was depressed at a time like this: read the Bible.

Daphne had always told him reading the Bible helps you when you're depressed. He did find that advice helpful time to time but he didn't go to church often since he and Kylie were always on the road, solving mysteries and that Daphne understood.

He was up in the book of Job when he heard a knock at the door around three – twenty that afternoon. He got up to answer.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you doing? You've been quiet for a few hours," Kylie told him.

"I know. Remember how Daphne always said the Bible helps us when we're depressed?"

"Yes."

"That's what I've been doing this entire time."

"All of us feel bad for you, Danny. You understand."

He nodded.

"We're going out to supper tonight. Is that all right with you?"

He nodded again.

"Where are we going?" Danny asked.

"The gang thought we could do Applebee's if that's okay with you."

"Okay. What time?"

"Five o'clock if they're not too busy for a day like this."


	4. Chapter 4

Danny and Kylie were the second ones there to arrive at Applebee's. Ryan, Keith and Linda were waiting for them outside with jackets on and Ryan waved them over once he saw his friends.

"Hi, Keith, Linda," Kylie told the two young children.

Keith and Linda gave them a silent nod to return the hello.

"They seem to be shy today," Ryan said, "which is not often they're like this."

"We understand. Have you heard anything new about Danny's mother?"

"None," Ryan said when they saw Jessica, Gloria and Frank head their way a few minutes later.

Gloria waved to them.

"Let's go in now before the place gets busy," Frank said as his stomach began to growl.

"When was the last time you ate today?" Gloria asked her brother.

"Twelve o'clock. I don't eat snacks much during the day."

"Dad would eat all the way through the day," Gloria reminded him.

"I know he would. I'm not crazy about eating all day like he and Scooby were. I don't want a doctor to put me on a diet if that happened," Frank said once the gang walked through the doors.

Danny opened the door as Kylie, Gloria, and Jessica walked in first. True, women and children were always first. Danny, Frank and Ryan had always acted as perfect gentlemen when it came to girls.

The girls thanked him as they walked up to a redheaded college man in his mid – twenties.

"May I help you?" he asked in a friendly tone of voice.

"We'd like a table for six," Gloria said.

"Name, please?"

"Danny Blake," Danny spoke up.

"It's going to be a fifteen – minute wait."

"All right."

Then he went to seat a couple with a baby in the woman's hand. The baby was a girl, so the man picked up a booth for the baby to sit in. The couple got a window seat not too far away from where the gang were waiting.

Fifteen minutes later, the same man came back and told them their turn was ready. They followed him to a table near the kitchen and added a couple more chairs so the six of them could sit together and conversate.

"Your waiter tonight is Jim," the man said as he handed them their menus and left.

His nametag told the gang he was Tim.

After Tim left, he seated another big party for a family of eight. Wow, the gang thought to themselves as they watched Tim head to the other side of the restaurant. Tonight the place wasn't crowded this time of night but it was starting to be packed. This isn't often the gang ate out at Applebee's. They mostly ate at home since today it can get expensive to eat out a lot. That's the best way to save money on staying home and make your own meals instead of just going out once a week or two and have to pay pricey meals.

When Jim came to their table fifteen minutes later, he said, "What would everyone like to drink? Are we ready to order yet?"

"I'd like to have a glass of water," Jessica spoke up.

"Same here," Frank agreed.

Danny ordered champagne and Kylie ordered a bottle of Merlot and the others stuck with water.

Then Jim took their orders, but most of it was chicken and salad. The gang hadn't decided yet if they should have dessert here or not yet. A bit too early to decide, Ryan thought as he and his friends handed Jim their menus. A minute or two later, Jim returned with the water and poured it all the way to the top.

After he gave the gang their drinks, they watched as he headed for the couple with the baby's table. It looked like they were ready to exit out of this joint. The baby looked like she was about five months old, but she was behaving herself tonight without any cries.

"I think I found some juice on your mother, Danny," Jessica spoke up three minutes later.

"Tell me."

"You're not going to like the results. I was out on the job this morning and found out that your mother was shot with a Smith & Wesson and the guilty person had a stun gun with him. He actually had the stun gun loaded and it headed your mother's direction without paying any attention."

"And what happened next?" Frank asked.

"That's all I know for now."

"This should be shared on facebook and Twitter," Kylie said, always thinking that their fans would want to know what went on with their murder cases.

"Go ahead," Ryan said.

He was as curious as the gang was on this crime. Whenever it came to an ending on their cases, they usually took turns being kidnapped and bait. Kylie had learned to make traps from her father. Her father, Fred, was a huge fan of making traps and had excelled at it.

"I'll write-up what I've learned so far in my column for the readers," Jessica suggested.

"You're the writer on all six of us, Jess, and go do what you want to write for your latest piece."

Somehow Frank never really cared much for newspaper reporters but he liked Jessica and he and the gang read her column and find her talented at writing. After the six friends finished eating, Jim came back.

"Would anyone want some dessert tonight?" he asked, grabbing the filthy dishes from the table.

"I think we can share the chocolate meltdown," Ryan said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll be back with a few meltdowns," he said, taking the dirty dishes away.

Danny saw Jim had left them the bill. It was a less pricey than the last time they were here. He saw the check was for forty dollars plus tax. Danny didn't seem to care who would be paying the bill. He thought that since this was Kylie's idea to go out tonight, she should be the one who would pay the bill.

"What's wrong, Danny? You're pretty quiet this evening," Gloria told him.

He still didn't say anything except to bring up the subject of the bill.

"Looks like we're off the hook for paying a pricey bill this time," Danny announced.

"What do you mean by 'less pricey?'" Frank asked.

Danny slide the bill over to him.

Frank picked up the light piece of paper in Jim's handwriting.

"Forty dollars plus tax? This is less than the last time we were here," Frank said, not one bit surprised.

"This was your idea to go out tonight, Kylie, so I think you're the one who is supposed to treat us," Danny told his girlfriend.

"All right. I'll wait to do that when we're done with dessert."

After everybody finished their meltdown, Kylie paid the bill as promised. Then the six friends were ready to go.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at Ryan's place that evening, Ryan sent Keith and Linda to bed since it was nearing their bedtime. His friends didn't seem to mind whoever was married in the group to bring their children along. Kylie and Danny did have grown daughters, but they never married.

After Keith and Linda were in bed for the evening, Ryan stayed up to watch some television and curl up on the couch and start a new murder mystery. Tonight he'd settle down with his first Mr. Monk book. He'd been given a recommendation on the Mr. Monk series written by Lee Goldberg. His friends in Mystery Inc. Second generation loved reading mysteries. They found it helpful besides their parents to solve mysteries on advice.

His sister, Jessica, mostly enjoyed books from Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, Janet Evanovich, Sara Partesky, Carol Higgin Clark and Tom Clancy. Danny enjoyed James Patterson's Alex Cross series, along with Dean Knootz and also Stephen King. He was also given a new recommendation of the author of the books named Dick Francis. Kylie's interest were well – known authors such as Jessica Fletcher, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman and Michael Connelly. Gloria enjoyed Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, Bill Thompson's Lynda Conway novels, and Patricia Cornwall. The gang would always have a group discussion on the latest book he or she had recently finished.

Whenever he and the gang were out on a case like this one and solved it later, Kylie usually did the piecing the clues together in court. That's how it was usually done for them so the court could decide what to do with the suspect and hear how she and the gang figured out the entire mystery. He wondered how Danny's mother's murder would look like in court and he didn't want to think about it, either.

It was about a little after eleven when Ryan stood up and stretched from the couch. He didn't believe he was reading all these hours in the evening. He was enjoying the Mr. Monk mystery that he didn't pay any attention to the time. A few hours ago, he was in the beginning of the story. Now he was two – thirds finished. He put a bookmark in the book and left it on the couch. Keith and Linda weren't bookworms yet, but they might one day.

After stretching for a few minutes, Ryan walked to the kitchen to turn its lights out, pushed in the chairs, organized the shoes by the front door, walked up the stairs to his bedroom. In twenty minutes, he was now under the covers. His light was now out for the night. His bedroom was neat, but he wasn't a neat person, but was trying to impress his friends that he was trying to be a good parent since his wife, Lauren died. After putting the covers over himself, he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Jessica was at the newspaper. She was on the Internet, going through her e – mails. She received this message: _'Mystery Inc., please stay out of my business. If you don't, you'll get what Daphne Blake deserved. I'll be watching every second, day and night. If you go to the police about this, you will get this big – time.' _Jessica gasped when she read the message. When she clicked on the user's e – mail address, it turned out the person who was trying to scare her and her friends off the case did not leave a name or address. She printed the message out so she could show it to her friends and the sheriff's office. None of her reporter friends noticed she screamed a bit since they were busy typing away.

Jessica picked up the phone. She dialed Kylie and Danny's apartment. Like any other day, Danny was usually busy with fixing toilets in the apartment building and Kylie was at work. Of course, Danny would come in and out of the apartment during the day so he would probably check the answering machine. After the answering machine came on, Jessica left a message after the tone.

"Hi, Danny and Kylie. This is Jessica. I think the gang needs to get together for lunch this afternoon. Give me a call if you're open. There is something I wanted to show you."

Then she hung up. This e – mail really freaked Jessica out. She wondered: _How did the murderer or murderers know my e – mail address? _This was really something the police needed to know. She went ahead and picked the phone up a second time that morning. She was able to get through the sheriff's department. The sheriff was in, so she read off the message she had received in that morning's e – mail.

"You can come over to the office now so I can see the e – mail," Sheriff Jackson told her.

After hanging up, Jessica grabbed her jacket and car keys. On her way out, she told her editor she was going to be gone for a while. Her editor didn't seem to mind.

It took Jessica about ten minutes to get to the sheriff's office. Like most of the sheriff's departments, the Los Angeles police department was crowded with criminals. Jessica was told by the sheriff's secretary to wait for a while since the sheriff was locking up a few prisoners. Jessica knew the routine. Of course she and her friends have been in jail a few times, but they usually took turns 'being bait', as Kylie's father, the leader of the first generation of Mystery Inc. would call it. Of course Kylie did take after her father in some ways, but not all the time. One of the things Kylie and the former leader of the group, Fred Jones had in common was being the leader. Kylie seemed to do well as leader of the second generation of Mystery Inc.

The sheriff came in seconds later. He was a medium – built, outgoing, gentle, kind of cop. His uniform was light – brown with the hat that matched. He had light silver hair and light – green eyes. He stood at almost six feet tall. He looked like he worked out at the gym every once in a while to stay fit while working on cases such as this one. Jessica didn't want to say this out loud to him, but he looked over the age of retirement. His health was still in good shape, but she really did think it was time for the sheriff to go.

"Hello, Ms. Anderson," Sheriff Jackson greeted her as he took a seat behind the desk.

He took his hat off and placed it neatly by the printer.

"Hello, Sheriff. I came here because I thought I would share a warning I received in my e – mail this morning," she said after he invited her to sit down.

His secretary asked if she would like a cup of coffee. Jessica accepted.

After she sat down across from Sheriff Jackson, she grabbed out the printed copy of the e – mail and handed it to him instead of shoving it in his face. Shoving was rude, she was told. Her mother, the brains of the family, Velma Dinkley had taught her and her brother a lot. Jessica and Ryan didn't take after Velma who had the brains of the first generation of Mystery Inc. That was more Gloria's thing. She watched as the sheriff finished reading the message.

"Well, Ms. Anderson, I'm glad you did the right thing by reporting this to us. We appreciate it."

"You're welcome. What do you think we should do? The sender didn't leave a name or e – mail address," Jessica said.

An idea popped in his head.

"I'm not sure if this will work out or not, Ms. Anderson, how would you feel if our department monitor you and your friends' telephone and e – mails so this guy would not harm you."

"We can give it a try. How would you monitor our e – mail accounts?" Jessica asked.

She wasn't one hundred percent if the sheriff's plan would work or not. She'd share this next time she got together with her friends.

"Mind if we keep another copy of this original?" Sheriff Jackson asked.

"Go ahead."

She watched as he typed the message on a Word document and hit the printer button. It made a buzzing noise to let them know it was getting Sheriff Jackson his copy of the original e – mail Jessica showed him. A second later, the piece of paper came out.

That's when his secretary came in with a couple fresh cups of coffee. Jessica thanked her and watched as she walked away.

"I'll talk it over with some of my deputies and see what we can do to protect your e – mail and telephone," Sheriff Jackson told her as she stood up.

He offered to open the door for her, which she accepted.

"I'll tell my friends about this and thank you for your help," she said in polite manners.

He walked her out of the door and she thanked him.

That's when she returned to the newspaper a few minutes later. She walked to her desk. She saw there was a new unheard message on her desk. It was from Danny. He thought getting together for lunch was a good idea. He suggested going somewhere like Taco Bell. He really wasn't hungry. To tell the truth, he hardly ate or slept since he received the horrible news about his mother. Jessica hoped once this mystery was solved, he would start sleeping and eating better.


	7. Chapter 7

Jessica arrived at lunch that afternoon. She was the third one to show up. Kylie and Gloria were there waiting.

"Hi, girls," Jessica greeted her friends after sitting next to Gloria.

"Hi, Jess," the other two returned.

As Jessica sat next to Kylie, she quietly pulled out the printed e – mail. Kylie and Gloria weren't paying attention, so they didn't see Jessica secretly pull out a piece of printed paper. Kylie and Gloria were on the lookout of their friends. While waiting for the others to show, Jessica saw Gloria wave to someone. It looked like nobody she and Kylie knew. Jessica didn't pay much attention to the person Gloria waved to.

"Kylie, is Danny coming?" Gloria asked.

"He didn't say anything about it. Why do you ask?"

"I noticed you both didn't arrive at the same time like you two normally do. That's why I asked."

"He told me he might or might not show up, so we'll have to wait and see."

"Oh. Poor guy is so upset about his mother's murder. I don't blame him," Jessica said.

"I am happy my dad didn't die that way," Kylie said.

Both Jessica and Gloria nodded at the same time.

"When the others get here, I have something I would like to show you," Jessica said.

That's when Frank and Ryan showed up. Frank sat between Gloria and Jessica and Ryan sat next to Kylie.

"Where's Danny?" Frank asked after he said hello to his friends.

"I'm not sure if he's coming or not," Kylie told him.

"You usually show up together, not separately," Ryan said.

"I just said that."

"Oh," Frank said.

It was no big deal who said what.

"While we're still waiting, I have printed something out from my office this morning. I would like to share it with everyone at once," Jessica told her friends.

"What is that something?" Gloria asked.

"You'll see. I can just tell for now that it came in my e – mail inbox."

"Uh – oh. That doesn't sound good news to me," Ryan said.

"That's because it isn't," Jessica told her brother.

A waitress came their way. Danny walked in behind the waitress.

"We thought you weren't going to show," Frank told him.

"Well, I did."

"Are we ready to order?" the waitress asked.

"Give us some more time," Kylie said to her.

"All right Would anyone like chips and salsa and drinks?" the waitress asked.

"That would be fine," Jessica told her.

Everyone ordered water. The waitress left to get a water pitcher.

"I didn't feel like coming to lunch, but I should since you all were coming," Danny said.

"It was all right you didn't show," Jessica told him.

"I know."

"Jess has something she wants to share with us," Kylie said to change the subject.

"What is that something, Sis?" Ryan asked her.

That's when the five friends watched as Jessica took out the printed e – mail from her lap.

"This came in my e – mail this morning," Jessica said, shoving the printed e – mail in Frank's direction.

"This doesn't look good at all," Frank said when he finished reading.

"What does it say?" Ryan asked.

Frank handed it over.

_"Mystery Inc., stay out of my business. If you don't, you will get what Daphne Blake deserved. I'll be watching every second, day and night. If you go to the police, you'll get it big – time," _Frank read aloud.

"That doesn't sound any good at all."

"Now all we have to find out who did this to your mom," Kylie told her boyfriend.

"That would be something I want to find out now," he told her.

Gloria patted gently on Danny's shoulder. Poor guy sounded like he needed more support from the gang. That was very understandable.

"I hope we can close this case soon," Danny said, pulling out a tissue to dab his eyes and blow his nose.

"We'll get it closed," Gloria told him.

"I sure hope so."

"While we're on the subject, did the e – mail leave a return address or a name?" Kylie asked.

Frank still had the e – mail and was studying it.

"No," Jessica answered for him.

"But I'd still like to find out why and how that person found my e – mail to send this," Jessica said.

"I'm sure we will," Ryan told his sister.

The waitress came back to put water in the glasses.

"Are we ready to order?" she asked again.

"I think so," Kylie said.

The gang took turns telling her what they wanted and she wrote the orders down. Then she took the menus from Jessica and disappeared again.

"This e – mail has something to do with Mom. Is that what it was saying?" Danny asked.

"Right, Danny. I still can't figure out how and where the sender found my e – mail to tell us this."

"Good question," Ryan agreed with Jessica.

They'd gotten e – mails like this before, but they were always hard to figure out where it was sent. So they had another mystery to solve: the e – mail! The six friends ate quietly that afternoon. Kylie wasn't that busy at the office that day, so she told the gang she'd take off early that day.

"Aren't you supposed to have an eight – hour workday like several of us do?" Frank asked when Kylie mentioned taking off early.

"Today it's pretty slow, Frank. Now that you mentioned it, I might give it a second thought and see how it shakes out."

"Good idea. You made a good suggestion, Frank," Ryan said.

"I thought so too."

Danny was the one that was the quietest.

"You can leave now if you want to, Danny, dear. Claudia can always take over for you. You need sleep. You haven't slept since this whole murder thing happened," Kylie told him.

"I guess I will leave now. I'll see you later," he said.

He also said good – bye to his other friends and the five of them watched him walk out of the restaurant.

"I do feel bad for Danny, Kylie. Maybe he should take time off from work until the case is closed," Gloria said.

"I'll tell him you mentioned it. Like Daphne said, church should be good for him when he's this depressed," Kylie told him.

"She actually said that? She'd really help her dad out for sure," Ryan said.

"I know. She also mentioned she wasn't making him to go to church, but it was his choice."

"True. When was the last time you were at the Church of Messiah?" Frank asked.

"Last week. Daphne talked about divorce, but that was a good thing Danny and I aren't like that."

"True, but you two look more like a married couple instead of boyfriend and girlfriend type. Why won't you just go ahead and get married?" Gloria questioned.

"Because he hasn't asked me, that's how come."


End file.
